posted
So i been hyperventilating which makes me dizzy and numb.
I honestly don't know what to do about it.
My oxygen is like at 100 But i feel like i can't breath.
-------------------- Ema Posts: 394 | From Southern California | Registered: Jun 2010
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glm1111
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Ema,
Cup your hands over your mouth and nose. This will prevent you from taking in so much oxygen and calm down the hyperventilation.
Gael
-------------------- PARASITES/WORMS ARE NOW RECOGNIZED AS THE NUMBER 1 CO-INFECTION IN LYME DISEASE BY ILADS* Posts: 6418 | From philadelphia pa | Registered: Jul 2008
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glm1111
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posted
The other thing you can do is to breath into a paper bag. Taking in too much oxygen is what is making you numb and dizzy. Hope you feel better.
Gael
-------------------- PARASITES/WORMS ARE NOW RECOGNIZED AS THE NUMBER 1 CO-INFECTION IN LYME DISEASE BY ILADS* Posts: 6418 | From philadelphia pa | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
If you have had this for 3 days, I do suggest you consult with your LLMD or your primary doctor. It could be anxiety, but it could be a sign of something more ominous and not exactly a herx or Lyme related.
I had anxiety and shortness of breath with almost 97-98% oxygen saturation. I ended up having a diagnosis of blood clots on my lungs. So normal oxygen does not rule out other ailments.
Please consult with a medical professional asap. I wouldn't think it too much to go to the ER and get checked out either. This has been going on for 3 days without relief.
Hugs!
Edessa
[ 07-02-2013, 08:54 PM: Message edited by: Edessajarrue ]
Posts: 138 | From Eden Prairie, MN | Registered: Dec 2011
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posted
Babs?
Posts: 342 | From Philadelphia | Registered: Dec 2011
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glm1111
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posted
Glad you went to ER. What meds are you taking now? It could be a herx. Parasites can also cause extreme anxiety.
Try drinking some water and make sure you are moving your bowels so toxins can be excreted. Maybe try a warm water enema.
Gael
-------------------- PARASITES/WORMS ARE NOW RECOGNIZED AS THE NUMBER 1 CO-INFECTION IN LYME DISEASE BY ILADS* Posts: 6418 | From philadelphia pa | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
I took 3 weeks of invanz and Zithro and one week of flagyl. After the week of flagyl I started getting panic attacks, costant shortness of breath, numbness, shaking, tightness in my chest, and hypervenlating.
I am now back on invanz and zithro
-------------------- Ema Posts: 394 | From Southern California | Registered: Jun 2010
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glm1111
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posted
The flagyl could have hit some parasites and caused the herx. Hope things calm down for you soon.
Gael
-------------------- PARASITES/WORMS ARE NOW RECOGNIZED AS THE NUMBER 1 CO-INFECTION IN LYME DISEASE BY ILADS* Posts: 6418 | From philadelphia pa | Registered: Jul 2008
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Carol in PA
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posted
In nursing school, we learned to count the number of complete breaths the patient was taking as we counted the pulse. The normal rate of respirations is 12 to 20 breaths per minute.
If you point out that you're measuring breath count, the patient will become self concious and alter it. As the patient's body temperature increases, the rate of respiration increases, so it is normal to breathe more rapidly when you have a fever.
When you exhale, you are breathing out the carbon dioxide that the red blood cells released in the lungs. When you hyperventilate, or breathe too quickly, you are "blowing off" TOO MUCH CARBON DIOXIDE.
The level of carbon dioxide in the blood helps to determine the acidity...the more carbon dioxide, the higher the acidity of the blood.
When you blow off too much carbon dioxide, the acidity is reduced. One of the symptoms you'll get is dizziness, and you may feel faint.
If you are hyperventilating and cannot stop, try rebreathing into a paper bag. Use a paper bag about the size of a lunch bag (6"x12"), bunch the open end of the bag down to about an inch wide, and hold it up to your mouth.
Keep it over your mouth as you inhale and exhale for a minute or two. You will "rebreathe" the air that you just exhaled, and this will increase the amount of carbon dioxide in your lungs and in your blood.
As the level of carbon dioxide returns to normal in the bloodstream, you'll be able to stop hyperventilating and your respiration rate will return to normal.
You should also do abdominal breathing, which is when the diaphragm pulls down to inflate the lungs. The abdomen will rise as you inhale, and you pull air deep into the lower lobes of the lungs.
The diaphragm is a sheet of muscle between the lung cavity and the abdominal cavity. When it spasms, you get hiccups.
. Ema said, "So they they told me anxiety. Even though i wasnt feeling stressed, i thought i was herxing."
When the liver is processing the neurotoxins left behind by the dead Lyme bacteria, it uses more magnesium, so you may have symptoms of low magnesium when you herx.
These symptoms include anxiety and muscle spasms (shaking.)
Continue taking supplemental magnesium (I can't remember which kind you have) and eating foods high in magnesium, like almonds and beans.
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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So glad you went to the emergency room for your peace of mind. I hope you follow up with your primary doctor as well.
If this is anxiety, or if it is a herx, please keep on trying the different suggestions on how to reduce the symptoms others have shared here.
This is not an instance of one treatment fits all - but try various things until you hit on something that helps you!
Sometimes medications such as ativan are prescribed at too low of a dose to be effective as well. Discuss this with your primary doctor or LLMD to see if it is a good dose to help reduce your symptoms as well.
Keep on searching and asking questions. You're doing a great job taking care of yourself during this scary and very uncomfortable time.
Hugs!
Edessa
Posts: 138 | From Eden Prairie, MN | Registered: Dec 2011
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It been four days and I still feel shortness of breath.
I think i started hyperventilating because im feeling shortness of breath.
-------------------- Ema Posts: 394 | From Southern California | Registered: Jun 2010
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Rumigirl
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posted
It sounds like a herx from the meds! Or possibly Babesia, but likely a herd. (What is with the darned spell check on LN?? It won't let me type herx---it keeps changing it to herd)?
You need some ways to detox the neurotoxins, such as lemon water or even better, water with lemon and a tablespoon of olive oil.
Coffee enemas are extremely helpful. Do a search here or on the web for instructions. You feel sooo much better from them, that it completely eliminates any feeling that it is weird or distasteful. They work very fast.
There are many other detox ideas, of course.
Call your LLMD pronto about this symptom. Of course here we are on a long weekend now! But I would even call on the emergency line.
Posts: 3771 | From around | Registered: Mar 2008
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ukcarry
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posted
For me, candida can also affect my breathing . Also, with air hunger, your muscles seem to stay rigid so tht it is hard to brethe from the diaphragm. Sometimes pummelling and massaging the chest can help.
Posts: 1647 | From UK | Registered: Nov 2008
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Carol in PA
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Ema said, "It been four days and I still feel shortness of breath."
Ema, you said you'd like to be a nurse. In nursing school we learned to evaluate the patient for breathing difficulty. You can see if his lips and fingernails are darker, almost blue, which shows that the blood is not oxygenated enough.
This can happen with lung problems and with heart problems. I had one man with pneumonia whose skin was gray and lips were bluish...he looked like "death warmed over."
Didn't you say that you have Babesia? This bacteria lives in the red blood cells and destroys the red cells when it breaks out. Thus, you wouldn't have as many red cells to carry oxygen.
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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My guess is a neuro herx reaction, especially since it was one week after taking flagyl.
It should subside after a few days.
If you get better, it could be an indication that the flagyl was ramped up too fast. The good news is this could be a sign it is doing what it is supposed to be doing. With Lyme you often have to get worse before you get better.
If you get better again in a few days, you should discuss with your Dr a strategy of pulsing (e.g.,2 days/week) or ramping up more slowly.
Good luck and hope you feel better.
Posts: 360 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Dec 2012
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I still have hard time with breathing, and I tend to hyperventilate and get anxiety attacks easily.
Carol, I have a lot of babesia symptoms, but I never did a blood test to confirm the diagnosis. I also have a Thalassemia trait which makes things worse, since my red blood cells don't carry enough oxygen anyway.
I am supplementing oxygen, but nothing seems to be helping.
When I attempt to do deep breathing I put myself in hyperventilating mode right away, I can't control it.
I am getting panic attacks everyday, it's horrifying.
-------------------- Ema Posts: 394 | From Southern California | Registered: Jun 2010
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Carol in PA
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Ema, I enjoyed chatting with you in the chat room this evening.
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